Car-coupling.



J. KELSO.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10. 1914.

l,1%8,021 Patented July 27, 1915.

' JOSEPH KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO MCCONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27, 1915.

Application filed July 10, 1914. Serial N 0. 850,157;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osErH KELSO, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the construction of car couplers and is'particularly' designed to provide means for actuating the locking mechanism of the coupler where the head room or clearance between the coupler and the adjacent, overhanging portion of the car is quite limited.

A further object of my invention is to provide a lock-actuating mechanism that may be placed beneath the platform of a car without interfering with the'usual air, signal and steam pipes.

A further object of my invention is to so construct the lock-actuating mechanism that it may serve as a means for preventing the look from accidentally assuming an unlocked position while the coupler is in service.

Generally stated, these several objects are effected by combining, with a coupler head and its pivoted knuckle, a vertically movable lock for said knuckle and means rotatably mounted upon and bodily movable with respect to the coupler head for causing the lock to assume an unlocked position and for preventing said lock from accidentally moving to an unlocked position, said lock being formed at its upper end with a laterally open recess, and said means including a member which is adapted to project into the recess of the lock and to be capable of engaging said lock either adjacent to the upper end of said recess or adjacent to the lower end thereof.

In the drawings illustrating the invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims, Figure lis a plan view of a coupler embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the devices illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig 3 is a detail section, taken on the line 33, Fig. 1, the parts being in the relative positions which they occupy when the coupler is locked; Fig. 4 is a view'corresponding to Fig. 3, but illustrating the relation of the parts when the lock accidentally attempts to move to' unlocked position; and Fig. 5 is also a view corresponding to Fig. 3, but illustrating the relation of the parts when the lock is brought to unlocked position through the instrumentality of the unlocking mechanism.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the coupler head and 2is the pivoted knuckle. The lock 3, which restrains the outward rotation of the knuckle 2, is vertically movable and, as shown, isv preferably mounted in the coupler head 1 so as to be vertically slidable with respect thereto. Near its upper end the lock is Provided with a recess 4 which is open through'the rear lateral face of the lock. The recess 4 is adapted to receive and permit the operation of a lock actuating memher or lever arm 5 which, as will hereinafter appear, is mounted upon the top of the coupler head so as to be both rotatable and bodily movable with respect thereto. As shown in Fig. 5, the interior face of the upper wall 6 of the recess 4 is adapted to be engaged by the outer end of'the lock-actuating member 5 when the latter is rotated upwardly to cause an unlocking movement of the lock 3; while the transversely extending face 7 of the look at the lower end of the recess is, as shown in F ig'. 4, adapted to move into engagement with the lower side of the lock-actuating arm 5 when the lock 4 accidentally attempts to move to unlocked position, the, movement of the lock to unlocked position being thus prevented.

Rigidly connected to the member 5 and preferably integrally attached thereto, is a horizontal shaft 8 which extends transversely across the coupler head and which is rotatably mounted in upwardly extending brackets 9 that may be conveniently cast upon the upper wall of the coupler head. To prevent any substantial longitudinal movement of the shaft 8 it is preferred to provide the same with enlarged portions or collars 10 and 11 which are adapted to bear against the opposed inner faces of the corresponding brackets 9. At its outer ends and beyond the supporting brackets 9 the shaft 8 is also preferably provided with forwardly extending lever arms 12 through which a rotary movement may be imparted to the shaft 8 from either side of the car to which the coupler is attached. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the shaft 8 may be conveniently actuated from the sides of the car by means of bars or levers 13 having upturned ends 14: which pass through suitable apertures in the corresponding lever arms 12, the connections of the bars 13 with the forwardly extending arms 12 being maintained by means of cotter pins 15. As will be readily understood, the shaft 8 may be retated to raise the lock 3 by rotating either of the members 13 in the appropriate direction.

The brackets 9 are preferably provided with openings permitting the shaft 8 to be easily placed in position or removed, such openings, as shown, being preferably through the upper parts of the brackets and the shaft 8 being maintained in assembled position in said brackets by means of cotters 16 forming removable closures for such openings. From a comparison of Figs. 3 and 4 it will be observed that the portions of the openings in the brackets 9 which are occupied by the shaft 8 are somewhat wider in a vertical direction than the diameter of the said shaft, this construction serving to permit the shaft 8 and attached lock-actuating member 5 to move bodily upward with respect to the coupler head 1 when the lock 3 attempts to accidentally assume an unlocked position, and also serving, as shown in Fig. i, to provide means for limiting such upward movement of the parts 5 and 8 to thereby arrest the unlocking movement of the lock 3.

A coupler such as described may be readily applied to cars where the vertical space that can be utilized beneath the platform is extremely limited, as the means for bringing the lock to an unlocked position need not eX- tend upwardly beyond the top of the lock in the position which the latter assumes when the knuckle is free to rotate outwardly.

hen either of the uncoupling levers 13 is rotated in the proper direction to effect an uncoupling operation, the shaft 8 to which the forwardly extending lockactuating member 5 is rigidly attached is also correspondingly rotated. Upon rotating upwardly the forward end of the member 5 engages the wall 6 of the look at the upper end of the recess 4 and the continued rotation of the member 5 results in causing the lock 3 to assume an unlocked position, as shown in Fig. 5. If while the coupler is in service the lock 3 accidentally moves toward unlocked position, the face 7 of the look at the lower end of the recess & therein engages the under surface of the forward end of the look-actuating member 5 and causes the latter, as well as the shaft 8, to be bodily moved in an upward direction until arrested by the engagement of the shaft 8 with the upper inner faces of the supporting brackets 9, as

shown in Fig. 4:. Upon the movement of the shaft 8 and lock actuating member 5 being arrested, the unlocking travel of the lock 3 is also arrested, and as this occurs when the lock 3 has moved but a slight distance from its locked position toward its unlocked position, an accidental unlocking of the coupler is prevented.

I claim:

1. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head and the knuckle, of a lock for said knuckle, and means mounted upon the coupler head for actuating said lock and for preventing said lock from accidentally assuming an unlocked position, said lock being provided with a rearwardly opening recess, and said means being provided with a rotatable member which is adapted to eX- tend forwardly into said recess and engage said lock.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head and the knuckle, of a lock for said knuckle, and means for preventing said lock from accidentally assuming an unlocked position, said means being rotatably mounted upon the coupler head rearwardly of said lock and being provided with a forwardly extending member that is adapted to engage said lock.

3. Ina car coupler, the combination with a coupler head and the knuckle, of a gravity actuated lock for said knuckle, said lock having near its upper end a rearwardly opening recess and means mounted upon the top of the coupler head and to the rear of the lock for causing said lock to assume an unlocked position, said means including a rotatable lever and a plurality of arms extending forwardly toward said lock, said lever being adapted to be rotated by one of said arms, and one of said arms being adapted to enter the recess in the lock and actuate said lock and to also operate to prevent said lock from accidentally assuming an unlocked position.

4:. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head and the knuckle, of a look for said knuckle, said lock being provided with a rearwardly opening recess, and means for causing said lock to assume an unlocked position, said means involving a rotatable lever which is provided with a forwardly extending member adapted to enter the recess in the lock and to engage said lock, brackets upon the top of the coupler head in which said lever is rotatably mounted, and removable means mounted on the respective brackets for retaining said lever in said brackets, said lever being also provided with a forwardly extending arm which is itdapted to engage means for actuating said ever.

5. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head and the knuckle, of a vertically sliding lock for said knuckle, and

means for causing said lock to assume an through the upper wall thereof and pro- 10 unlocked position and for preventing said jecting into said recess.

look from acidentally assuming an un- In testimony whereof I affix my signature, locked position, said lock being provided in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. near its upper end with a recess which is open through the rear face of said lock, and JOSEPH KELSO' said means including a member mounted Witnesses: upon the coupler head and having a rigidly FRANCES L. SPRAGUE, attached member extending downwardly F. D. EGKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C." 

